The dictator

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Movie
German title The dictator
Original title The Dictator
Country of production United States
original language English
Publishing year 2012
length 83 minutes
Age rating FSK 12
JMK 12
Rod
Director Larry Charles
script Sacha Baron Cohen ,
Alec Berg ,
David Mandel ,
Jeff Schaffer
production Sacha Baron Cohen,
Alec Berg,
David Mandel,
Jeff Schaffer,
Scott Rudin
music Erran Baron Cohen
camera Lawrence Sher
cut Greg Hayden
Eric Kissack
occupation
synchronization

The Dictator is an American comedy from 2012 , written by British comedian Sacha Baron Cohen , in which he plays the title role. Cohen's fourth feature film, "tells the story of a dictator who risks his life to ensure that democracy will never raid his country, which he so lovingly suppresses." Was again directed by Larry Charles , who previously worked on the films Borat from America to benefit glorious nation of Kazakhstan and Brüno worked with Cohen.

action

Admiral General Aladeen ruled dictatorially in the Republic of Wadiya, a fictional country within the borders of Eritrea , which unites numerous clichés of real states. Aladeen leads a despotic regime and reacts to even minor offenses by his subjects with a gesture that symbolizes the head . Because of his wealth, he can allow himself sexual escapades, even with celebrity show greats like Megan Fox . However, besides sex, he lacks human closeness. The western countries are threatening Aladeen with war if he does not submit a statement to the UN on his plan to manufacture nuclear weapons .

Aladeen travels to New York to speak to the United Nations on rumors that his country is developing nuclear weapons . On this occasion, he is kidnapped on behalf of his traitorous uncle and security chief Tamir. The dictator's beard is cut off and replaced with a doppelganger, a simple-minded Wadi goatherd. The real Aladeen is able to escape from the torture cellar and tries to get to his delegation and to take up his role again, which he does not succeed due to the security requirements, his lost beard and his lost clothing.

The left-wing alternative political activist Zoey, who runs a vegan health food store, meanwhile saves him from an argument with the police and offers him to work in her shop. Aladeen initially refuses, outraged. During his foray through New York, he discovers a restaurant with Wadi exiles. There he learns that his subjects, who were sentenced to death, were not actually executed, but were taken out of the country and have built a new existence for themselves in exile in New York . Here he also meets Nadal, the head of his nuclear weapons program. He wants to help Aladeen to regain his power, if he can build his atomic bomb for it.

Meanwhile, Aladeen's uncle uses the doppelganger to announce that Wadiya is to become democratic. The constitution should be signed in the presence of the UN members. Behind this, however, are Tamir's selfish interests in selling the country's oil rights.

Aladeen takes the job at Zoey in to gain access to the UN, as Zoey party service as caterer was hired the UN event. Zoey teaches Aladeen to masturbate , as he has previously only satisfied himself by having sex with other people. Shortly afterwards, the charging one is saboteur who was of Green World, Zoey's competition, hired (in the unrated version is this is an assassin in the service Tamir), devastated and hurt Aladeen. He can turn them off, but Zoey and the store are still discredited. He succeeds in tightening the shop management profitably with drastic means, and his experience as a dictator benefits him in the process. The attempt to get to his place via the contract as caterer for the hotel fails, however. He finally succeeds with the help of a boarding rope cannon built by Nadal, with which he can shimmy from the roof of the neighboring house to his apartment with considerable difficulty. There he hides his doppelganger and resumes his old role.

In his speech he first tears up the democratic constitution, arrests Tamir and speaks out against democracy. Instead, he promotes the dictatorship and presents its numerous advantages, which numerous UN delegates look at in silence.

“Why are you all so against dictators? Imagine America was dictatorial. You could distribute all of the country's wealth to just 1% of the population. You could help your rich friends to get even richer by lowering their taxes and supporting them financially after they gambled away everything on the stock exchanges. You could ignore the poor's need for health care and education. Your media could pretend to be free, but is secretly directed by a person and their family. You could have phones tapped. You could torture foreign prisoners. You could manipulate elections. You could invent lies to start wars. You could fill your prisons with a particular ethnic group and no one would complain. You could scare people so much through the media that they support policies that do not even begin to represent their interests. I know you Americans find it hard to imagine. But please try. "

When Zoey, with whom Aladeen has now fallen in love, appears at the speech, however, his mood changes and he mixes her characteristics with those of democracy. Finally, at the end of his speech, he declares his love for democracy and announces that he wants to introduce democracy in his country. Elections take place in Wadiya, which, if manipulated, result in a nearly 99% majority for Aladeen. As the newly elected president, he marries Zoey, who comes out as Jewish at the wedding ceremony, to which he reacts with the familiar gesture. In scenes during the credits , you learn that Nadal and Aladeen are continuing to build their bomb and that Zoey is expecting a child from Aladeen:

"Is it a boy or an abortion?"

background

According to marketing, the film is said to have been inspired by the novel Zabibah and the King of the executed Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein . Before the beginning of the film, a fade - in reads “In silent memory of Kim Jong-il ”.

The exterior shots were shot in the Plaza de España in Seville and on the island of Fuerteventura , both Spain .

Sequences that are intended to create a reference to reality and show US President Barack Obama and British Prime Minister David Cameron in televised speeches come from the time of the international military operation in Libya as a result of Resolution 1973 of the UN Security Council . Recordings of US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton are also used, in which she speaks about Syria's President Bashar al-Assad .

At the Cannes Film Festival 2012 , Sacha Baron Cohen and Elisabetta Canalis hosted an advertising campaign for the film, during which he presented the character's typical slapstick for the press.

censorship

The film was banned in Tajikistan , Turkmenistan and Belarus . In Kazakhstan , the film was banned two weeks after its premiere.

criticism

“Cohen manages to cross the line to embarrassment again. It's weird sometimes. But when the Israeli UN delegation is doused with urine, it's just disgusting. Many gags are clearly aimed below the belt. This time it is not particularly illuminating for the audience. This 'dictator' is more adolescent than political. "

- Krischan Koch

“A parade of sketches that is only partially comical without a real bite. Instead of letting go of a fictional character on real people, this time the filmmaker is organizing a purely fictional farce, which only occasionally manages a few satirical tips. "

- Lexicon of international film

“The dictator is… a dramaturgically pointed gag fireworks display that has less in common with Borat than with the naked cannon. Baron Cohen and Charles leave the unpredictable paths of the mockumentary and only deliver a staged fictional film that […] is prominently cast. The anarchic charm of guerrilla filmmaking seeps into the crude but harmless fecal humor. "

- epd film

Trivia

At the beginning of the film there is a map showing the borders of the Wadiya Republic; it actually shows the border of the state of Eritrea . Based on his personality, especially the female bodyguard, similarities to the former Libyan dictator Muammar al-Gaddafi can be recognized.

Soundtrack

The soundtrack was released on May 8, 2012.

  1. The Next Episode - Aiwa, Mr Tibbz & Admiral General Aladeen
  2. Ila Nzour Nebra - Jalal Hamdaoui & Driver
  3. Habibi - Ali Hassan Kuban
  4. Everybody Hurts - Mc Rai (see Raï )
  5. Wahrane Wahrane - Cheb Khaled
  6. 9 to 5 - Michelle J. Nasser
  7. Goulou L'Mama - Jalal Hamdaoui & Cheb Rayan
  8. The Song of Admiral General Sargeant Aladeen - Erran Baron Cohen feat. Omar Fadel
  9. Let's Get It On - Mohamed Amer
  10. Raoui - Souad Massi
  11. Money's On the Dresser - Erran Baron Cohen feat. Jules Brookes
  12. Our Beloved Leader - The Aladeenies

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Certificate of Release for The Dictator . Voluntary self-regulation of the film industry, May 2012 (PDF; test number: 132 909 K).
  2. ↑ Age rating for Der Dictator . Youth Media Commission .
  3. ↑ Sam Morgan: 'The Dictator' Nabs Ben Kingsley ; Article on Hollywood.com dated April 29, 2011.
  4. ↑ Harry Knowles: Sacha Baron Cohen To Adapt A Book (Possibly) Written By Saddam Hussein For The Big Screen !! Posted on AintItCool.com on January 20, 2011
  5. ↑ Jutta Zniva: Sacha Baron Cohen is “The Dictator” - Saddam Hussein's romance novel as a movie ; Item on TV wish list from January 21, 2011
  6. ↑ ¿Distingue Fuerteventura en la película de Baron Cohen? ; Article on Canarias7.es from January 12, 2012.
  7. ↑ Mike Larkin: We surrender! Oscars bosses make humiliating U-turn and ask Sacha Baron Cohen to come as The Dictator for awards ; Article on Mail Online of February 27, 2012
  8. ^ Sarah Bull: Don't mess with the Dictator. In: Mail Online. May 16, 2012. Retrieved May 19, 2012 .
  9. ↑ 'The Dictator' Banned in Tajikistan . May 18, 2012. Retrieved May 18, 2012. 
  10. ^ Luke Harding : Tajikistan bans The Dictator . In: The Guardian , May 18, 2012. Retrieved May 18, 2012. 
  11. ↑ http://www.charter97.org/en/news/2012/5/20/52482/
  12. ↑ http://en.tengrinews.kz/cinema_and_music/The-Dictator-banned-2-weeks-after-premiere-in-Kazakhstan-10444/
  13. ↑ Krischan Koch: The Dictator ( Memento from May 29, 2012 in the Internet Archive ); Criticism on NDR / culture
  14. ↑ The dictator. In: Lexicon of International Films . Film service , accessed March 2, 2017 .Template: LdiF / Maintenance / Access used 
  15. ^ Jörg Buttgereit: The dictator ; epd film , accessed July 10, 2015
  16. ↑ soundtrack.net: The Dictator - Aladeen Records